For Whom the Bell Tolls
Mid-tempo, chugging riff under a distorted, wah-swept bass lead.
What is the For Whom the Bell Tolls guitar tone?
The For Whom the Bell Tolls guitar tone is mid-tempo, chugging riff under a distorted, wah-swept bass lead, heard on Metallica's 1980s thrash metal recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Metallica reportedly tracked it with James Hetfield's Electra Flying V copy into a Marshall JMP 2203, bought to replace the modded Marshall stolen in Boston and pushed harder by an Ibanez Tube Screamer to make up for the lost mod, recorded with Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen in 1984. Tones in this style live or die on tight low end and a scooped midrange, with the picking hand doing as much of the work as the amp.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
For Whom the Bell Tolls amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 8, Bass 6, Middle 3, Treble 7, Presence 6, Reverb 1, with the bridge pickup.
- Signal chain
- Ibanez Tube Screamer as a boost → Marshall JMP 2203 distortion
- The control that matters most
- The boost. Hetfield drove an already distorted Marshall harder with a Tube Screamer, so a boost into moderate gain gets closer than more gain. The high lead line in the intro is Cliff Burton's bass through distortion and a wah pedal, not a guitar.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
What gear did Metallica use on For Whom the Bell Tolls?
James Hetfield's Electra Flying V copy into a Marshall JMP 2203, bought to replace the modded Marshall stolen in Boston and pushed harder by an Ibanez Tube Screamer to make up for the lost mod, recorded with Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen in 1984.
Sources: Guitar.com: Metallica gear facts, Ground Guitar: James Hetfield's Marshall JMP 2203, Ground Guitar: James Hetfield's Electra Flying V, Wikipedia: For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica song)
Tonelify reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the For Whom the Bell Tolls tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original For Whom the Bell Tolls tone
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For Whom the Bell Tolls tone questions
What amp settings do you need for For Whom the Bell Tolls?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 8, Bass 6, Middle 3, Treble 7, Presence 6, Reverb 1, with the bridge pickup. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same mid-tempo, chugging riff under a distorted, wah-swept bass lead from different positions.
What is the most important control for the For Whom the Bell Tolls tone?
The boost. Hetfield drove an already distorted Marshall harder with a Tube Screamer, so a boost into moderate gain gets closer than more gain. The high lead line in the intro is Cliff Burton's bass through distortion and a wah pedal, not a guitar.
Can you get the For Whom the Bell Tolls tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with James Hetfield's Electra Flying V copy into a Marshall JMP 2203, bought to replace the modded Marshall stolen in Boston and pushed harder by an Ibanez Tube Screamer to make up for the lost mod, recorded with Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen in 1984, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is For Whom the Bell Tolls a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Metallica's 1980s thrash metal catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
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